The Man in the Yellow Car

Friday evening I was trying to pick up my son at his friend’s house on Madison when I encountered an interesting character in a small yellow car. I was cutting through on Eagle Street hoping to turn up Madison, when I realized the street had been closed. Instead I had to wind my way through back streets parallel to Lark. A man in a yellow car was behind me. Every time, I or the cars in front of me, stopped for a light or stop sign, he would stick his head out the window and yell “GO” as soon as the light changed or he deemed it safe to go. I became so intrigued in his odd behavior, that I stopped watching the lights and watched him in my rearview mirror instead, earning myself a number of bellows from him. What kind of person does that? Doesn’t matter, because Dude you inspired me to write a blog.

Anne’s Rules of Driving Etiquette in Albany

Do not beep your horn or bellow out a window the second the light turns green. Where are you going that you need that 5 extra seconds? Your car horn was not designed for the purpose of making people move faster.

I do not want to hear loud, bass thumping, indistinguishable “music” coming from your car. It shakes my house when you pass by and irritates me in traffic. I love music as much as the next person, but that doesn’t mean heavy, inarticulate, head hurting noise. Be courteous.

Put down your cell phone when you are driving. Nothing is more important than safety. The statistics and law back me on this one. Friday afternoon I counted ten women in minivans or SUVs talking on their cell phone. You will not be able to track your kids down if you are in a coffin or in jail because you killed someone while on your cell phone. Really……… I thought woman were the smarter sex. Oh yeah, texting and driving isn’t cool either.

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What on Earth has happened to driving over the years? You can’t all be cardiothoracic surgeons late for the O.R. or driving a woman in labor to the hospital…what is the hurry and hostility all the time? Plan your day better. And guess what? If you didn’t – you do not suddenly obtain the right to be a complete jerk. Here’s my refresher course:

1) Red lights and Stop signs actually still mean stop;
2) Tailgating is still illegal;
3) Passing on a double-yellow line is also illegal, after tailgating me because I was “only” going 40 in a 30, in a vain attempt to avoid your front bumper;
4) Directionals – also the law and just common sense and common courtesy;
5) Turning left? You don’t have right-of-way over drivers going straight;
6) Five miles of open road behind me? You don’t need to jam your car in the space between me and the car in front of me – a space I’m leaving so that I’m not tailgating.

Life is short; it doesn’t have to be miserable too. Can we just start being civilized and nice to each other on the roads again?

Add to that do not double park because you are too lazy to park 30 feet in front of or behind wherever you need to be. I see this all the time on Central Ave. There are always plenty of spaces but people just put their flashers on so they can park directly in front of their destination.

Scenario that happened to me on Myrtle Ave, the part that is a two-way street. A woman was parked in her car facing me in the middle of the street, she can clearly see me, and there are parking spots farther up the street and some behind her that she had already passed. After I did a few friendly honks (pretending like I thought maybe she hadn’t seen me for 2 minutes)she moves onto my side of the street, while our cars are still facing each other, and tells me to go onto the wrong side of the road to pass her… I let her know that I couldnt fit because one of the cars parked on what should have been her side of the street was out too far.

Her response to this was getting out of her car yelling and opening the trunk. At this point I decided to do a 16 point turn and go back the way I came, hopefully the people behind me did the same.

Driving behavior is just a symptom of the disease… And the disease is called ” I am a complete freaking idiot and nobody else on the planet but me matters”. Unfortunately it is too prevalent and is metastasizing quickly and everywhere. It is not found only in driving but in all aspects of live. There is no thought or concern for others by the vast vast majority of people anymore. I live on a quiet street yet the idiots that are my “neighbors” feel the need to drive 55 mph on my 300 yard long street so they can get home to watch “jersey shore”. If it wasn’t so sad it would be funny.

i agree on a points, people are getting more ignorant with there drving, i am so sick of young girls on there cell phones, last week i almost got broad sided when one was on her cell phone and ran a stop sign , when i blew my horn to get her attention she replied with her mental IQ figure , driving is getting worst

Reasons why people stopped caring about others are probably legion from decreased personal interactions, hi tech gadgets that take out the human side of life, loss of meaningful religion, individualistic ideas about success and money, no unifying national interest or battle, red and blue differences, political correctness, isolation in living arrangements, isolated strip development, Madison avenue advertising praising the individaul rather than the group and on and on. Even blogs like this used to be discussed on the evening walk with your neighbors not in cyberspace. Oh it is so so sad! Well gotta go get MY dinner!

That is a funny story! What a maroon. i was driving back from Ithaca yesterday on 88 and there was”construction” going on. There were only two cars in front of me but they were going super duper slow. The lady behind me tried to pass just as the big cones preventing cars from driving in the closed lane appeared.
Fortunately she realized her immense stupidity at the last moment and didn’t end up killing herself. I hope it scared her enough to be more careful. It certainly frightened me!

Sorry to comment twice, but last evening, for the second time, a lady in a black SUV almost ran me of the road, again, turning onto 378 from 377. There are two left turn lanes and I was in the left most. After the turn the lanes merge into one. The lady had been behind me, everyone had merged, then she proceeds to pass me on the right causing me to either slam on my breaks or swerve into oncoming traffic.
I honked a couple of warning beeps. She gave me the bird.

Hey Anne: Asyou know,I am still somewhat of a newcomer to upstate NY, having moved to Kinderhook in 2006 from Manhattan. I’m a very good driver, more fast than slow, but alert and respectful of other drivers. NYC taxis aside, I have to say I have never lived anywhere in which the local drivers scare me as much as those in the Greater Capital Region. The local drivers — men and women — speed dangerously fast on the highways, on and off ramps, major streets (like Central) and even on residential streets. And the tailgating is beyond rude; it’s crazy! I’ve seen the yelling at intersections. Why are there so many tense drivers in the region? Any ideas why people drive so fast in the Capital Region?

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